Organizers called an urgent duck crisis meeting early Wednesday and
didn't immediately respond to questions about the misfortunes of the
duck or whether the deflation was part of regular maintenance, as reported
in some local media. A tweet did appear however on the official Harbour
City Twitter account, saying: "The Rubber Duck needs to freshen
up. Stay tuned for its return."

Much later in the day, organizers responded and said it was a planned
deflation. Why it took so long to clarify and why officials had to get
senior management approval to make such a statement seems a little odd
and naturally, this got Hong Konger's busy with the popular pastime
of gossiping.